Howard cabinet ministers who prefer VIP air

Senior figures in the Abbott government were among those who enjoyed ''free'' travel on VIP military aircraft to fly to Canberra for parliamentary sitting weeks, amassing a taxpayer bill of more than $2 million, Defence Department records reveal.

Former ministers in the Howard government including Peter Costello, Nick Minchin and Amanda Vanstone used ''special purpose'' VIP military flights to commute to Canberra with private staff members, despite having unlimited business-class air travel with Qantas as part of their ministerial perks.

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Empty military planes, costing taxpayers thousands of dollars each flight, were sent from Canberra to capital cities to pick up the Howard ministers, despite on many occasions regular commercial flights being available.

The examination of VIP travel among senior ministers in the previous Coalition government adds to revelations of taxpayer-funded generosity afforded MPs through expense claims allowing them to attend weddings or travel cross-country.

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Beyond prime ministerial travel - including then acting prime minister Wayne Swan's trip to the 2010 NRL and AFL grand finals - Fairfax Media could not find systemic use of VIP jets by Labor MPs during the Rudd and Gillard governments.

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It is standard practice for prime ministers to use VIP jets, but Finance Department rules state other ''entitled persons'' including MPs ''should only use VIP military aircraft in special circumstances''.

The strict guidelines state the defence minister ''will only approve [VIP] travel where he or she is satisfied that no suitable alternative means of transport is available''.

Mr Costello chose to use VIP military aircraft on more than 60 occasions to fly from Melbourne to Canberra and return just for parliamentary sitting weeks.

The flying time from Melbourne to Canberra is one hour.

In response to Fairfax Media, Mr Costello, Mr Minchin and Ms Vanstone said all travel had been approved through the Defence Department and had occurred within accepted guidelines and systems for VIP travel.

Empty military planes, costing taxpayers thousands of dollars each flight, were sent from Canberra to capital cities to pick up the Howard ministers, despite on many occasions regular commercial flights being available.

A spokesman for Mr Andrews said: ''It is very difficult to comment on the flight or flights as no date was given by Fairfax Media.''

A spokesman for Mr Billson did not wish to comment and Ms O'Dwyer also did not wish to comment.

The planes Mr Costello's entourage used included the Boeing 737 Business Jet, on which passengers can relax on leather lounges, use conference facilities and enjoy business-class food and wine service.

Fairfax Media analysis of Defence Department records reveals Mr Costello's group alone billed taxpayers more than $200,000 for their sitting-week flights from 2002-2007.

In the earlier years of the Howard government, from 1998 to 2002, Mr Costello spent more than $270,000 on ''special-purpose aircraft'' for domestic travel, but Finance Department records do not show destinations for those flights.

This cost estimate does not include the salaries of flight staff and the leasing of aircraft, which is funded as part of the broader defence budget.

Mr Costello said the flights were ''CABSPEC'' or ''cabinet special'' that were ''put on to fly senior ministers to cabinet meetings from various capitals around Australia'' and were a practice of both Labor and Coalition governments for decades.

He said the system ''saved money because otherwise the government would have to pay for commercial flights to and from Canberra for all of these people''.

''These flights were expressly authorised by cabinet guidelines,'' Mr Costello said. ''There is no suggestion whatsoever that these flights were unauthorised or related to anything other than parliamentary business.''

Fairfax Media has established that on at least eight CABSPEC flights during the Howard government, Mr Costello was the only senior minister on the Melbourne-Canberra leg.

Mr Minchin said during the period in question there were, on average, four cabinet ministers who were based in Adelaide and the Defence Minister approved the use of a VIP aircraft to allow them to attend cabinet meetings.

Ms Vanstone, who was also an Adelaide-based minister at the time, said: ''Ministers did not 'order' VIP flights. ''A request had to be made through the VIP co-ordinator in the Defence Minister's office.''

Senator Johnston said it was ''long-established practice for ministers of state, the opposition and the Governor-General of Australia to have access to the Special Purpose Aircraft operated by the RAAF's 34 Squadron''.

''SPA flights are accessed in accordance with Commonwealth government guidelines for the use of special purpose aircraft in order for MPs and the Governor-General to meet official commitments,'' he said.

The early days of the Abbott government have been dogged by a series of expenses scandals.

In recent weeks, Fairfax Media has revealed a quarter of the Coalition frontbench has billed taxpayers for travel to and from weddings.

Other controversies include West Australian MP Don Randall claiming more than $5000 in travel expenses for a trip to Cairns for ''electorate business'' while he was taking possession of an investment property.

Mr Randall has promised to repay the money, insisting he was entitled to the trip because of a two-hour meeting he had with then opposition whip Warren Entsch.